Lyrics
12.
Then Jesus did a story tell:
A farmer tilled his vineyard well,
Then left it in some tenants’ hands
While he went off to foreign lands,
And when the time came to return,
He sent his servant there to learn
How did the vineyard’s tenants fare,
And if they of their fruits could share.
The tenants beat the servant sore,
And threw him out upon his ear,
And yet the master sent one more
Who also they did beat full sore,
Finally he sent his own son,
And the tenants murdered this one.
Even his son was dead, and so
What should the vineyard’s owner do?
These evil tenants he’ll evict,
And others he will then select,
As the one stone that was rejected
Will for the corner be selected.
Soldiers and authorities came,
The ones who sought to arrest him,
But they all feared the multitude,
And so chose not to spill his blood;
But rather sought to interest Rome
By posing him this conundrum:
Should Godly men support the state
By paying Caesar’s tax, or not?
So Jesus said, Give me a coin,
And asked, Whose face is stamped hereon?
Give back to Caesar all his coin,
And give to God all that you can.
Then lawyers came with phrase and clause,
Saying, If a man’s brother dies,
One brother takes the other’s wife
To marry her and share her life.
Now, if there would be seven brothers,
She mates first one, then all the others,
And when they all do meet in heaven,
Which is her husband of these seven?
Jesus answered, On judgment day,
These souls will all like angels be,
They will not marry as on earth,
Nor to children will they give birth.
And one of them said, Rabbi, tell,
Which is the greatest law of all?
And Jesus answered, Hear, O man,
The Lord our God, the Lord is One,
Love you the Lord with all your heart,
Your soul, your mind, your strength impart,
This first is what you shall obey,
And serve the second equally:
Do not to any neighbor do
What you would not have done to you.
So the scribe said, Lord, these two
Will more than sacrifices do.
And Jesus to the scribe said then,
God’s kingdom you have seen within:
The other scribes love ornament,
And seek high places there to mount,
In the market they make salutes,
And occupy the richest seats,
Yet they on widows’ houses feast,
And for a pretense beat their breast,
And when at judgment they arrive
Their condemnation will receive.
From where we stand we see folk come
Each to the treasury with his sum:
Though rich folk scrutinize their gains,
Mark how that widow shares her coins:
Much greater is her sacrifice
Than all their riches and device,
For they mere scraps and tokens shed,
While she has given all she had.
